Split Review

February 2, 2017

Rating: ★★★★☆

As someone deeply interested in Psychology, I get quite critical on movies or non-fiction books that talk about mental illness. I want mental illness to be portrayed as close to reality as possible so that people are educated about it rather than being misinformed. When I saw the trailer for this movie, I was intrigued. I was hoping it will be what I was looking for.

(Warning: Minor spoilers ahead.)

The lead character Kevin, played by James McAvoy, was abused as a child and in turn, developed several identities that helped him cope with different situations. Some of the identities introduced were Barry, the fashionista who loves to draw sketches of outfits, Hedwig, the 9-year-old kid, Dennis, who likes to watch young girls dance while they are naked, and Patricia, a stern lady.

The movie showed the audiences what it’s like to have Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). McAvoy did a great job portraying all of Kevin’s different personalities and it’s refreshing to see him again on the big screen beside the X-men franchise where he played the young Professor X. Anya Taylor-Joy who played Casey, a young girl with a traumatic past and was kidnapped by Dennis along with two other girls, did a great job portraying her character as well.

M. Night Shyamalan is known for the twist in his movies so I was looking for that great “reveal” but there was none… at least for me. However, if you’re not too familiar with his previous movies, then you might not be disappointed with Split. In terms of the story, I tried guessing what’s going to happen but all of my predictions were wrong and that for me was a good thing – the movie isn’t predictable.

Overall, the movie is great for me. It’s worth watching and I will definitely watch this movie again. The story is amazing, the cast is great, and I believe Shyamalan is finding his momentum again with the release of this movie (also with his 2015 film, The Visit).

PS: Watch out for a surprise appearance from one famous actor who starred in a previous Shyamalan movie!